Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, released the following statement in response to the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh:

We grieve with those who are mourning the horrific mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

We grieve the lives lost to senseless violence at the hands of domestic terrorism. We grieve for those who were injured in body and spirit during this shooting.

In our grief, we will also speak truths that need to be named. This was anti-Semitism. This was extremism. This mass shooting was a hate crime. This mass shooting reflects unapologetic bigotry that we are all called to denounce and resist.

May Jewish communities, both within and outside of Unitarian Universalism, feel especially held in tender love and care today and in the days to come. We are in this together.

May we all hold each other especially tight, knowing this life is tender and precious, and love will help us find a way.

About the Author

The Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray is the ninth president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). She was elected in June 2017 to a six-year term. She has served as lead minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix since 2008. She previously served as...